A heroic kite-flying battle and splendid floats

Hamamatsu Matsuri, famous for its heroic kite-flying battle, in which people fly giant kites and try to block each other's lines, sees more than a million visitors every year, and is one of Japan's major festivals. The festival has more than 450 years of history, and through it the tradition of flying a "hatsudako" ("first kite") to celebrate the birth of a child has been preserved. In the daytime, a "takoage gassen", or kite-flying battle, unfolds at Nakatajima Takoage Kaijo (Nakatajima Kite-Flying Event Ground), and at night, festival-goers are enchanted by the sight of gorgeous floats being drawn through the streets downtown.